Suggestions for the fifth anniversary of the podcasts?

This October will be the fifth anniversary of the podcasts, I’d quite like to do something a little special for that one, but I’ve no idea what! Do you have any ideas what would be a good theme for that one? Is there anything you’d particularly like me to cover? It is the five year mark, so we can push the boat out and hence any I’m OK with “big suggestions”. Your help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks also for supporting the podcasts! Amazing to think we’ve done 5 years worth!

Personally I love your "contencious" podcasts, the ones where you're arguing a posiiton that is diaposing to traditional dogma. As I tend to agree with most of the principles behind what you teach I find it gives me a quiet sense of superiority and an unjustfied aura of smugness- especially if I am listening to the Podcast in a public place.

...as a suggestion.. how about doing a podcast on your hypothesis about Itsosu's Sho versions of kata..

Secondly a challenge for Iain , to take a kata outside of the Wado style and to walk us through on how he would decode the kata's application (obviously a Shotokan kata would be my first choice as it is the style I practice). e.g. kanku sho, unsu, gojushiho sho. I would like to see the tought process and methodology Iain uses, thoroughly expanding on the principles of understanding the kata bunkai and applying them as Iain elucidates the bunaki of a given kata. I don't mean to do the entire kata. Maybe 3 sets of sequences.

For the above request I think a video podcast would be best as Iain himself always says that it is hard to explain such things simply in words.

Maybe this idea can be linked with the idea of looking at the "sho" versions.

Have a "dai" - "sho" comparison.

Taking bassai dai, bassai sho and kanku dai, kanku sho. Looking at their historical backgrounds, their similarities and differences and how they each deal with similar situations in different ways.

All great ideas! I may well use all of those whether for the 5th anniversary or not.

Michael Stolberg wrote:

Firstly a video podcast.

Now that’s a great idea! This had been suggested to me before, but I put it on the back burner on the grounds that it would be too labour intensive for me to do on a regular basis … however as a one off for the 5th anniversary I think we could put a 30 min “TV show” together!

So let’s open that up, if we were to do a 30 min show what would people like to see in addition to the above?

I’m initially thinking we may do a regular podcast to tie in with video podcast i.e. the audio on the background and theory of the topic, the video showing it put into practise?

What about something for the as-yet unconverted? For the dojo-sparrers and line-trainers whose eyes haven't been opened to the true potential of the art they've been studying all these years?

Most of the people on this site have had that "diamond bullet " moment when they turned from dancing in pyjamas to effective, applied karate (or whatever art you study...that's the real essence of what's going on here IMO) and I'd love to be able to give others that opportunity

. Maybe a podcast we can direct our friends and training partners to, explaining and demonstrating what the hell it is we've been banging on about, could be useful.

Other ideas are very interesting, though. Maybe just the one video podcast isn't enough!

Love the idea of a video podcast for the 5th anniversary, and would love it to have something "different"... something from Gojushiho or Nijushiho as suggested above would both be really cool for instance.

More Podcasts like this, yes. But not the 5th anniversary. That warrants something more.

As an aside, as someone that teaches pressure point use I found the Pressure Points Podcast one of the best. Needless to say, I largely disagree with Iain. However, it was a great Podcast that I felt was, to some at least, contentious.

I'd love to hear Iain's insights on his experience, i.e recommended approach, benefits, pitfalls etc. etc. of crosstraining in different MAs, both from the SD perspective and more general enjoyment perspective.